sonant

[ˈsoʊnənt]

sonant Definition

• 1. a speech sound that is produced with vibration of the vocal cords
• 2. voiced

Using sonant: Examples

Take a moment to familiarize yourself with how "sonant" can be used in various situations through the following examples!

• Example

  The English language has 24 consonants and 12 sonants.

• Example

  The letter 'm' is a sonant.

• Example

  The difference between 'b' and 'p' is that the former is a sonant while the latter is not.

sonant Synonyms and Antonyms

Synonyms for sonant

• voiced
• vocalic
• resonant

Antonyms for sonant

• voiceless
• unvoiced

Phrases with sonant

• sonant cluster

  a group of two or more sonant sounds pronounced together in a syllable

  Example

  The word 'badge' has a sonant cluster of 'dg'.

• sonant shift

  a change in the pronunciation of a sound from a voiceless consonant to a sonant consonant

  Example

  The Old English word 'cniht' became 'knight' in Modern English due to sonant shift.

• sonant harmony

  a phenomenon in some languages where all the sounds in a word are either voiced or voiceless

  Example

  Turkish has sonant harmony, where all the vowels and consonants in a word are either voiced or voiceless.

Origins of sonant

from Latin 'sonans', present participle of 'sonare', meaning 'to sound'

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Summary: sonant in Brief

'Sonant' [ˈsoʊnənt] refers to a speech sound that is produced with vibration of the vocal cords, also known as 'voiced'. It is the opposite of 'voiceless'. Examples include the letter 'm' and the sonant cluster 'dg'. 'Sonant' can also refer to phenomena like 'sonant shift' and 'sonant harmony'.